Saturday, July 23, 2011

Comic-Con’s Hall H held all the devoted fans (some who had been waiting to get in since Monday) it could pack in for Thursday’s Breaking Dawn panel. “You always forget just how huge it is,” said Robert Pattinson, a few hours later, relaxing with coffee alongside Kristen Stewart and director Bill Condon.

The highlight of the presentation had to be the screening of the never-before-seen footage of Bella and Edward’s honeymoon on Isle Esme. “I thought it went over really well,” said Condon. “I was hoping that the beats that they would kind of ‘Oooh’ and ‘Ahh’ over were the ones they would. It felt really good.” There certainly was plenty of both oooh-ing and ahh-ing (thanks to scenes of Stewart clad only in a white towel and Pattinson shirtless in the ocean by moonlight). And yet both actors agreed it was a calmer, gentler panel scene than during previous years at Comic-Con.

“The first time we did it,” says Pattinson of his first Comic-Con in 2008, “all the lights came up when everyone came in. And people just went insane. People didn’t stop screaming for ages — and that was before the movie even came out. It was a turning point. It was the first bit of promotional stuff — we’d done one Entertainment Weekly cover at that point, and that was it. And it was like the characters from the book had actually just walked out on stage.”

Stewart agreed. “It was the first real sign,” she said, that the movie versions of the beloved books might be a hit. Of that first appearance, “I think I was genuinely scared.” But this year, “everyone was so nice,” she said of the fans who attended the panel. Both actors and Condon mentioned they were impressed with fans’ thoughtfulness and respect given during the Q&A, and were thrilled to be able to show them the footage. “We had a discussion about it,” said Condon about the length of the clip. “I said, ‘Let’s not just do a little thing. Let’s really show them.’”